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What kind of potatoes should I use for different types of recipes?
Potatoes have gotten a bad rap, mostly because of the Atkins diet. We now know that low-carbohydrate diets are just plain silly (why quit eating entire food groups?) and eating potatoes is fine. There are a lot of good carb choices and potatoes should be part of your pantry along with brown rice, sweet potatoes or yams, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, polenta and corn.

Which carbohydrates are good for you?Carbohydrates are not your enemy. After years of research we do know what we have known for a long time – poor quality calories are bad for you. It doesn't really matter whether the focus is on carbs or fat or protein, if the quality of the food is great, the food is likely great for you.

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A
group of 84,555 women were followed for 20 years (1980-2000). Study participants,
all white and without a history of diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular
disease, were asked to complete food consumption questionnaires on a yearly
basis, and were asked about the use of postmenopausal hormones, smoking
status, body weight and level of activity every two years.

Women
who consumed the most potatoes had a 13% increased risk of type 2 diabetes
than those who ate the least potatoes. As the women's BMI (Body
Mass Index) increased, their increased risk also went up--to 18%. French
fry eaters, however, had a 65% higher risk of type 2 diabetes compared
to those women who ate the least amount of french fries. After controlling
for the additional risk factor of a higher BMI, the relative additional
risk decreased to 29%--meaning that women who ate more french fries tended
to have a higher Body Mass Index. After controlling even further for additional
risk factors such as trans fat intake and total calories, the relative
risk again decreased to 21%.

The
increased risk of type 2 diabetes in this study was stronger when the women
replaced whole-grain foods with potatoes or french fries, and those women
tended to be obese as well as sedentary.

What
this means for you

Potatoes are a good source of fiber and shouldn't
be removed from your diet altogether. Commercially prepared french
fries, however, are high in fat--especially trans fats. Bake them at home
instead, using this Baked
French Fries recipe. Taste tests have shown that people like oven-baked
french fries as well as deep fried. Instead of that bag of chips
at lunch? Have a piece of fruit. Instead of baked or mashed potatoes,
try substituting corn
on the cob, squash,
brown rice, pasta, grits, couscous or
whole wheat pasta.